Friday, May 4, 2012

Recipe: Swedish Pancakes

Everyone, Swede or not, loves a good Swedish pancake. Right? If you haven't had them before, they are similar to a crepe, but a little sweeter and made with a bit less flour. The recipe I grew up eating, is the version originally from the Stockholm Inn, in Rockford, Illinois. One of my aunts originally snagged this recipe from the Rockford Register Star in the 1970's, and all of my relatives who live in that area say that it is the same one the Stockholm Inn has used since it opened years ago. There are lots of other versions you could use, but if you are using milk, lots of eggs, butter, and a little flour and sugar, you will come up with something quite similar.

I make a few changes to the recipe when I make the pancakes, namely, I slightly reduce the amount of sugar and butter used, and don't find that there is much of a difference in taste. Also, instead of topping them with the traditional lingonberry jam, I typically use raspberry. I know it isn't as Swedish, but I prefer the taste, (a little less tart) and it is easier to find in the store!

A few years ago, I realized my aunt was mixing the batter in the blender, instead of mixing it by hand, and I thought she was genius for doing so. Zero lumps, and super fast.

Mix well with a wire wisk, getting out all flour clumps. If you prefer, put all ingredients in a blender and blend away. Pour a small amount of batter (about 1/3 cup) in hot buttered pan, and roll around edges of pan so that batter covers the entire base of pan. Flip carefully, (they fall apart easily) when bottom is golden brown. Each side takes about two minutes. Serve with jam and powdered sugar, or syrup.